Jason Mullens was a maintenance worker contracted to make repairs around the Fulton County Jail. The 45-year-old Covington man is now locked up inside the jail himself after authorities accused him of smuggling marijuana, cigarettes and a cellphone into the facility and giving them to inmates.
Mullens was arrested last week on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, theft by receiving property stolen in another state, providing prohibited items to inmate and seven felony counts of crossing guard lines of a jail with prohibited items.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, jail deputies became aware of Mullens’ alleged operation while investigating an unrelated incident June 8. During the investigation, deputies found an inmate with a cellphone, which prompted the officers to check surveillance footage.
The footage showed Mullens meet with the inmate in the jail’s north corridor the night before, according to the warrant. Deputies said he took a dark-colored object that appeared to be a cellphone out of his shirt pocket and discreetly handed it to the inmate.
Mullens was stopped June 9 when investigators spotted him go into a cell with two inmates. Inside his tool box, they found a bundle wrapped in black electrical tape that contained 31 grams of suspected marijuana, four Newport cigarettes, three packs of rolling papers and a bottle of air freshener, the arrest warrant said.
Deputies said Mullens admitted that he gave inmates prohibited items like tobacco products on several occasions. He also confessed to giving the inmate the cell phone June 7, and said he’s received Cash App payments in exchange for items.
Mullens denied being involved with the other contraband found in the toolbox, the warrant stated.
Atlanta police K-9 searched Mullens’ SUV, which was parking in a lot behind the jail. They said they found two loaded handguns, a BB gun and a damaged cell phone, as well as tobacco products and counterfeit bills.
One of the guns, a 9 mm Glock, had been reported stolen from West Palm Beach, Florida, last September, deputies said in the warrant.
Mullens remained jailed without bond Thursday night, according to online booking records.
It’s not the first time a contractor has tried to sneak contraband into the jail. Fulton County officials say TreQuera Lashell Ford, 24, who was a medical assistant at the jail, attempted to smuggle in a bag containing 192 grams of marijuana, 20 grams of suspected crack cocaine, 200 cigarettes and loose tobacco at the start of her shift May 14, deputies said.
According to the sheriff’s office, Ford panicked and left the bag at security when she was questioned about a strong smell of marijuana. She was taken into custody Thursday in Grenada, Mississippi, after more than a month on the run, the agency said.
About the Author
